How to choose the front door to the apartment?

Until recently, most people chose an entrance door based on only a few criteria - design and price. Now the range of doors in online stores is very wide. More and more people began to think about other parameters of door structures, such as reliability (level of resistance to burglaries), sound insulation and thermal insulation. How to combine all these three qualities in one product and choose the most optimal option for yourself, read this article.

A door that meets the following criteria is considered the most optimal and convenient to use.

1. Steel doors or ones made of other metals are considered a good option: they are fireproof and in the event of a fire, they will prevent it from spreading.
2. The product should be free of scratches, dents and welds. The best sheet thickness is considered to be 2.5 mm.
3. An armored pad in the area of ​​the lock can be a great addition.
4. The frame of the door frame must be solid, with one welding seam (not 2 or 4).
5. The door must have anti-burglary pins.
6. It is desirable to have two different types of lock (electronic lock is allowed). One should have armor padding.
7. Choose models with at least 3 horizontal stiffeners.
8. Heaters must be in the box profile.

Let's take a closer look at each part of the door, as well as the nuances associated with its choice.

It is the movable part of the door that we open. Most people consider this part of the structure as a door. Has several main parts or layers - two metal sheets (outer and inner), frame, filler and stiffeners. A metal thickness of less than 1.5 mm is considered a bad option - a little physical effort will be enough to open the door. Do not buy a door made of too thick metal sheet. In this case, children and the elderly will not be able to open it.

Also, the canvas can be made made of wood. Expensive models are made from especially valuable species - beech, oak or ash. More budget models are made from pine, walnut or cherry. It is important to choose a model with an internal sectional structure.

The frame plays an important role in the door structure. It is usually made from a single-piece shaped tube. The weld on a good door should be in one place - in the hinge zone.

It is a "frame" in which the door is installed. A quality door frame should have one weld seam. It is a closed loop.

The door frame has 6 points used during installation: 2 of them are on the lock side, the rest are on the hinge side. Insulation is also placed in the door frame - preferably the one that is in the door.

The seal is located in the door leaf. It makes sense to install insulation with a thickness of more than 40 mm.

The installation of seals is also required. They are gaskets that are installed on the door or door frame in the form of long strips. Usually rubber seals are used. Together, this will provide thermal insulation and sound insulation. Simply put, drafts and various odors will not be felt through such a door.

The lock installed in the door must be complex: it should be chosen from those models that better resist attempts to open the door. These are often locks that combine two different types of mechanisms. If this does not interfere with the hacking itself, then at least it will take the criminal's time.

One of the most difficult to break in is the combination of the lever and cylinder mechanisms. There are systems that do not allow the use of lockpicks when breaking. They should also be preferred. It is also recommended to install additional protection in the form of 2 mm steel sheet to the lock. The armored pad on the lock protects from drilling and knocking out. The crossbar (the bolt of the locking mechanism itself) can be installed on the upper part of the door.

You need to understand that no castle, even the most difficult one, can save you from robbers. Any technology sooner or later becomes a mystery to which an answer will be found.

It is better to proceed as follows: install an electronic lock and camera, as well as, if possible, a security system. Even such measures are not always a guarantee of the safety of the apartment, but at least they will cause some trouble to the criminal.

Thanks to the hinges, the door can be closed and opened. The hinges must be of high quality, otherwise there is a high probability that the door will bend under its own weight. Hinges can be of two types - hidden and open. It is not uncommon for open hinges to be cut off by a grinder, so hidden hinges are considered more reliable.

However, anti-detachable pins are now installed in the kit for open hinges. They prevent the door from being removed after the hinges have been cut. For a good fixation of the door, as well as to prevent it from bending, it is enough to install 3 or 4 sets.

Its presence in a new product is mandatory - this is an additional safety measure. With its help, you can decide whether to let someone in the doorway, and also call the appropriate authorities if necessary.

For most, the aesthetic appearance of the door is important. If the door is painted, it is also covered with an anti-corrosion coating. The product can be upholstered with leather or leather substitutes. Sometimes it is sheathed with MDF.

In general, in the process of selecting a door, you need to focus on the following recommendations:

• Popular and at the same time universal is the white door. It goes well with a light interior. A geometric, simple and symmetrical pattern can be a good addition to it.

• Another popular option is a dark door. You can give preference to the color of dark wood. It also goes well with light interiors - it creates an appropriate contrast.

• For lovers of modern drawings, you can choose a door with a vertical line, metal or shiny inserts. These doors are reminiscent of high-tech style. They go well with an apartment in which there are many lamps, mirrors or candles.

• Option with a mirror. Of course, the mirror should be inside, not outside. In this case, the door must be chosen without unnecessary drawings, as well as in a uniform color.

• Door with ethnic design. If there are some ethnic elements in the apartment, then you can duplicate them as drawings on the inner surface of the product. It looks very unusual, and also immediately makes it clear that you have put a lot of effort into beautifully furnishing your apartment.

Often, the construction team can choose not exactly the door that the owner or hostess would like, because first of all they assess its quality, not taking into account the design of the product. For buyers and customers, appearance is one of the first characteristics they pay attention to.

In general, the doors produced by the STAL plant received good reviews. The models have a budget, affordable price and combine low cost and quality well. The doors "Neman" belonging to the same category were also noted. Both manufacturers offer a wide range of models with different designs.

Moving on to more expensive models, we can note the door called "Monolith" by the manufacturer "Guardian". The door is distinguished by its exceptional design and high reliability characteristics. The price of a product can go up to several thousand dollars.

Among other domestic manufacturers that maintain production at a relatively high level, Elbor can be noted. Its products are tamper-proof, the quality of the seals is good and the design of the models is interesting. The products of the manufacturers "Forpost", "Torex", the aforementioned "Guardian", "Condor" have shown themselves well. Among the foreign ones are the doors of the Polish firms Galant and Novak. The Belarusian firms “Steel Line” and “Metalyux” have quite good doors.

1. Doors weighing more than 90 kg are not worth purchasing. Their weight is due to the reinforced structure, which is more needed by commercial premises (for example, banks or warehouses).
2. A very important factor is having a competent door installer. With poor-quality installation, for example, jamming of locks, sagging of the canvas is possible. The door will not only look unaesthetic, but will also cease to fulfill its functions.
3. The low cost compared to other models should raise suspicion. As a rule, such doors do not withstand even elementary influences and bend from impact. Usually these are products that are produced by rolling several layers.
4. Bad filler. Cardboard filler is relatively poor. Such a door will be quite light.
5. Small thickness of metal sheets for the canvas. A sheet up to 1.5 mm thick can be opened with a regular can opener. Sheet up to 2 mm thick is opened with metal scissors. A sheet of more than 3 mm in thickness makes the door quite heavy, so great attention must be paid to the quality of the hinges. It must be remembered that the sheets are installed on both sides.
6. Choose a manufacturer that gives a quality guarantee for products.

1. The optimal door weight is 70 kg. A door that is too heavy will quickly wear out the hinges, and soon it may be necessary to replace the hinges with new ones.
2. A thick door leaf does not protect against burglars. It is necessary so that cold and various noises do not penetrate into the apartment. For modern multi-storey buildings, a 70 mm thick canvas is perfect. If you choose a product for a private house, then you need to opt for a thickness from 90 mm to 100 mm. For non-residential premises, products with a thickness of 50 mm are also suitable.
3. The optimal thickness of metal sheets for a door is from 2 to 2.5 mm (for an apartment), for a private house - about 3 mm.
4. Correct installation of the product is very important. You need to find a good master.
5. The more stiffeners, the better. It is best to opt for their non-standard shape. In the presence of stiffening ribs, the door cannot be bent, the strength increases without increasing its weight. You can choose models with a thinner metal sheet and still be sure of the strength of the blade.
6. First of all, doors are broken through the locks, then through the canvases, in the last place are the hinges. Thus, if you want to protect yourself from thieves, then you must first of all pay attention to the quality of these three details.